LET THE RIGHT ONE IN :: FORIEGN :: 020

Let The Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in), a suggested viewing by another film critic, completely got my blood flowing (much unlike the teeny-bopper Twilight series).

The film opens with the reflection of a young, towheaded, swedish boy, Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), as he somberly looks out his window to the dark, snow-laden ground below.  We learn that he has much to be melancholy about – His parents are divorced, has no friends, and he is constantly tormented by a gang of bullies at school.  One day he meets a 12-year old (more or less) girl (although she says she “isn’t a girl”) named Eli (Lina Leandersson) that doesn’t think too much of the cold and has a funny smell about her.  As mysterious murders plague the town (a “girl” has got to eat!), Eli and Oskar become friends, learn Morris Code together and she helps him find the courage to stand up for himself.

What I enjoyed most about this film was the story.  To often we, this incubus-fantasizing-society, fixate on the vampire’s religious alienation and lecherous associations of sexuality and not necessarily on the messy reality of what happens during “meal time.”  In the movie, Interview with a Vampire, feeding was clean, as if their incisors were slurpy-straws.  How would this type of forced killing feel to a young person – even one that has been a young person for a long time?

We don’t think too much of loneliness and isolation with kids that are able to go to high school and later, conduct jobs (except on days of sunlight) like the characters in Twilight [who oddly enough aren't expelled for skipping too many days].  But if we ask ourselves, “How would it affect me if had no one?  How might I look at killing (if I’ve always been a vampire)?”  The film shows us that there is a humanistic compulsion that resides deep within the pale skin of Eli; that she doesn’t want to spend eternity alone.

The second question that arise is one that I am glad this movie brought out.  At one point in my life I wanted to try and become a vegetarian.  Time and time again I would try and fail.  In a conversation with a vegetarian friend of mine, he said, “most people these days, if personally killing a cow all by yourself , would turn away from meat.”  Meat is murder*.

But alas, we are animalistic in nature and designed for the hunt.  Eli feels that way about what she must do to survive.  There is little (if any) remorse for the dead.  The world is her dinner plate and we are but tender, succulent morsels on it.  Of the people that walk, cattle-like, in the snowy landscape, it is not surprising that she desires one as a “pet.”

Staying to the Joyce Review code of “no spoilers,” is hard with this one because, as a vampire film that quickly became my favorite vampire film, I have a vampire’s compulsion to tell the story to everyone I see and talk with.  One thing I will say is that I enjoyed the ending a great deal and I plan on reading John Ajvide Lindqvist’s book of the same title.  I cannot say enough that, if you are a fan of vampire films, you are bound to enjoy this one.

Watch before they give it a Hollywood remake – which I hear is already in the making.

I leave you with the last words communicated in the film.  Figure it out if you can.

[In December, I'll write in what it was (for those that are too lazy to figure it out on their own).

* dot * dash * dash * dot

* dot * dot * dash

* dot * dot * dot

* dot * dot * dot

Lines are open! ....

*In Swedish. [Enlish Subtitles]     114 minutes.

*Meat is Murder is a song by one of my favorite singers, Morrissey.  He’s a vegetarian and believes strongly in that eating meat is a vile thing. [don't know if that had any significance or not].  The title of the book (and the movie) Let The Right One In was taken from Morrissey’s song “Let The Right One Slip In.”

TWILIGHT :: FANTASY :: 019

Edward Cullen, the dreamboat vampire (from Stephenie Meyer’s novel adaptation of book one of the Twilight Saga), says that he can read thoughts; all except for Bella’s. Poppycock!

When I was in high school, I was fairly naive on the female cues of desire.  Edward Cullen has been in high school for 100 years and reads off the thoughts in the restaurant scene with great ease, “Money.  Sex.  Money.”  For some odd reason, he cannot pierce the blank stare of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).  Maybe it’s because of her blank expression or maybe because of her blank mind.  Clearly she wants Edward’s body.  It’s so obvious (I scoff).

I hope to one day have a daughter; one that will one day meet a boy that she grows to love.  However, the moment he says the lines, “I’ve killed people,” I’d hope that she’d have the good sense to leave him and contact the authorities.  But joking aside, Bella has some sort of romantic death-wish for Edward and want’s to “do the deed” with him, literally, if it kills her.  But “abstinence-boy” won’t let that happen.  It’s a push-pull relationship from the very beginning and it intrigues me to know just why Stephenie Meyer would write this of seemingly bright, introverted young girl.  Maybe if she was a sadistic, goth-girl I’d buy it, but not in this story.

If you want to watch a ridiculously-awesome film about young vampire love, watch Let The Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in. 2008)[review coming NEXT].  [available as Watch Instantly on NetFlix]  Not only does it depict a more realistic development of love, it gives a commonsensical perspective of the life of a vampire.  Because, let us be real a minute – two separate tribes of vampires AND werewolves cohabitating within such a small town as Forks, Washington?

What little knowledge I have of women (pardon my modesty) notwithstanding, it can never satisfy my curiosity towards the question, “Why do women (particularly in these modern times) relish in the thought of being relished?”  Men seem to think, if I’m only persistent… she will be mine.  When in truth, women seem to fantasize for the mysteriously-aloof, complex or troubled James Dean-types; even though they make some of the worst husbands.

Meanwhile back on the ranch…  we have several other problems.  The special effect choices disappointed me.  I got an instant Lee Majors (Six Million Dollar Man) flashback when I saw how the film depicted the vampire’s superhuman speed.  And when in the (direct) sunlight [emphasis on the "direct"], it comes off as if Edward was the result of some terrible glitter factory explosion.  But on the other hand, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” so why wouldn’t Bella swoon?

Twilight, is likely to be a fan-favorite of teenage girls the world-over for years and years, but don’t look to me for an answer of “why.”  I’ll just chalk it up to biology, labido, our natural affinity for danger, and poor dating choices.

Here’s to a better sequel, in Twilight : New Moon.

Review coming this weekend!

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE FALLEN :: ACTION :: 018

By the power of Grey Skull!

Hollywood steals my childhood toys and then sucks away 2 and a half hours of my life!

There is no real need in me to describe the plot to you, as it is clearly the most horrific hollywood pornification of a beloved cartoon/toy I have seen in my many years.  As a child born in 1978, I had the priviledge to play with “real” toys of the 1980’s.  They were the best.  Die-cast metal transformers, Go-Bots, and Voltron – action figures like He-Man, ThunderCats and G.I. Joe.  Imagine for once, my excitement when I notice a bulldozer, crane and cement truck in a scene.  The child in me gleamed a nerdy half-smile as I knew what was going to happen.  Or at least I thought I did.

Those behind the making this film can thank their lucky stars for signing Shia LaBeouf, because if it wasn’t for his girlish shrieks of realistic fright, and for basically carrying this movie on his shoulders, director Michael Bay would have had on his hands a one-bearclaw-review.

The other claw is awarded for living up to the promise of the poster:

More Robots. Bigger Explosions. And much more Megan Fox.

Bollocks! Never in my nightmares would I imagine that they’d CGI (computer-generated-imagery) one of my favorite toys into a shape-shifting pile of junkyard sick.  Where was my favorite Decepticon, Soundwave; whose voice and robotic-counterparts-o’-stealth always brought great amusement?  He might have been there, but it was hard (even for me) to decipher between any of the hunks of metal, especially as they fight Matrix-like on the screen.  Oh yeah… I see yellow… “that must be Bumblebee.  And was that a flash of red I saw?  Could that have been Optimus? I dunno.”

Sam Witwicky (Shai LaBeouf) gets accepted to Princeton University, which we are to believe is a huge “party school.”  And as we get a glimpse of his coed hall, the campus quad and Sam’s Astronomy class, the entire Uni is made up of none other than “The future poll-dancers of America.”  Young, slutty, females, media-based-attractive in every way, swinging their hips and making winky faces at the teacher – oh what a good way to corrupt our youth and give them a false impression of one of the country’s foremost Ivy League schools.  I’d love to see the look on the face of the kid that aspires for greatness, only to find that his dream school beholds no female of the Maxime-realm.

A note for future directors of action – make it strong and memorable, not relentless and confusing.  Audiences (myself included) will be forgiving if the hero miraculously weaves a field of gunfire, or even escapes a kungfu-fighting-orgy-of-robotic-mayhem, but the barrage of explosions [never even a shrapnel wound] must wears thin to anyone over the age of 13 [it's PG-13 in the first place].  So, with the target audience of teens-to-35 year olds, we have far too much sexuality, lowbrow humor (humping dogs, even a leg-humping robot), crass ebonics, not-to-mention the idiotic, manipulative portrayal of our military forces.

“Hello.”

(voice on the phone) Here’s the latitude and longitude that I need your highly-classified weapon to hit.

“Who is this?”

(man on the phone).  There’s no time! If you don’t do it, they’re going to destroy the sun!

“Roger that. I’m on it.”

Boy! I can’t wait for Transformers 3.  Are they going to bring in the ever-so-popular(-in-my-day) Dinobots?  If so, they might earn an extra claw.  But they’ll have to earn it.  Those looking for good action movie sequels rent Aliens or Terminator 2, as quick, off-the-top-of-my-head suggestions.

The lines are open. What were your thoughts of this movie?

GHOST TOWN :: COMEDY :: 017

Bertram Pincus DDS will help you with your smile, … nearly every second of this film.

Rick Gervais, British funnyman, and star of “The Office” is terrific in his first leading role in a feature film.  Greg Kinnear (Stuck On You) and Tea Leoni (Fun with Dick and Jane) just adds a masterful touch to create a delightfully comical trio.

Rick plays the part of Bertram “Pink Ass” Pincus, DDS (yes, a dentist); a man without any affection for any person, place or thing.  After unexpectedly dying of a colonoscopy (still one of the simpler medical procedures) and being revived after 7 minutes, he wakes up to an unusual skill. He can see dead people. [Haley Joel Osment flashback!] Obviously this couldn’t happen to a worse person.  And as the only living person who can see those past on, the dead bombard him with demands for favors that they didn’t get around to finishing.  But “Pink Ass” will have none of it, except for Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) whose brazen charm persuades,… urr…. blackmails him into helping his cause; to rescue his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni) from jumping into the arms of tree-hugging attorney Richard (Billy Campbell).

One trait that I admire highly in an actor/actress of the comedy genre, is that they don’t try to be funny.  It’s like the art of “The flasher.” Not that I’m condoning “flashing” (it’s just plain wrong, not to mention illegal), however, to many of us… it’s kinda funny.  But if you stop to think about it a moment, if you encounter a man with a trench-coat and he turns to you and opens it up and keeps it open,… that’s just gross and it can be inferred that the guy is nuttier-than-the-typical.  However, the quick flash often gets the best response and leaves you wondering “What just happened?”  You pause and then you giggle. [or you're shocked and go directly to the nearest "Fuzz".  whatever.]  Point is… Bertram is like the “quick flasher” and gets the laughs, chuckles, giggles out there in an efficient manner, by not appearing funny – merely agitated - and we laugh heartier for it.

It was difficult to make deductions to this film, as the entire cast performed brilliantly with one another and the script was rich, and humorous.  However, in these types of stories, ones whereby the characters are expected to “live happily ever after,” the dialogue can run a little high on sap.  But keep in mind that it’s not the normal consistency of sap.  It’s not pine sap.  More like honey. Oh so tastey.

8 1/2 :: FOREIGN :: 016

The off-the-wall irony is, might you guess, that I’d actually rate this picture 8 and 1/2.

It’s a shame though, that The Joyce Review is prejudiced against fractions.  Their bourgeois nature offends me and so, we’ll round it off at a solid and majestic 8.

Hailed by Roger Ebert as “the best film ever made about filmmaking” 8 1/2 features Guido (Marcello Mastroianni) as a famed director working on his latest masterpiece.  It is to be an epic picture, part science fiction and part commentary on Catholicism.  [Damn you fractions!]  The worst part is that he has completely lost his artistic vision and is constantly pestered by producers, writers and would-be actors to make the needed directorial decisions. He shirks and flees to the realms of memory, dream and fantasy to search for answers.

Just like the story’s hero (Guido), Fellini was riding the high-wave of success from his previous film, La Dolce Vita (1961), when he is thrown into a common artistic conundrum of  how to top the last.  In a Seinfeld-esque move (“I’ve got an idea for a show.” What’s the show about? says the other person. “Nothing!”), Fellini takes his actual feelings towards the artistic struggle and places it on the head of our hero, like a sacrificial goat, and sets him loose to create a picture that “Is what it is”… as aimless and scattered as reality but as cerebral and poignant as a dream.

8 1/2 is a highly visual picture that intends to evoke through the use of style and imagination.  It’s an inner-space odyssey in which the story begins with the main character (Guido) as he is trapped in traffic, becomes asphyxiated, and (in one of my favorite scenes of the film) floats into the clouds only to notice that he is not free; in fact, he is a human kite being reeled in by his peers at the shore.  They tug at his kite strings, he loses flight and plummets towards the surf.  He awakens suddenly to find himself in a spa in Rome.

With this strong opening scene, 8 1/2 begins a journey through the mind of the director (and of Fellini) and his interactions between his sultry and materialistic mistress (Sandra Milo) and his intellectual wife (Anouk Aimee); those that obnoxiously clamor for his attention (producers, writers & actors) and those whose attention he would give willingly.  It’s a battle between the primal and the spiritual and of desire and obligation.  At times, a beautiful muse appears (perhaps one of the loveliest faces I’ve seen on the silver screen, Claudia Cardinale) and in her delicately calm manner, tries to reassure him that all will be forgiven.

The Visionary is the only true Realist.

Federico Fellini

In one of the more famous scenes in cinema history, we encounter a dream in which Guido is surrounded by a harem of women from his past and present, and they all forgive and love him.  But the harem has rules, and one of these rules is that once you turn 26, you must move to the second floor.  As one lady pleads to stay, she slowly starts a revolution amongst the aging women.  Quick to keep them in line, our fedora-wearing hero pulls out a whip in a futile struggle to keep them obedient.

It had occurred to me that the creatively-minded duo Steven Spielberg and George Lucus must have taken ample notes in this harem scene to create the famous introduction of Harrison Ford in Indian Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.  From the shadow image of our hero wielding a bull whip, wearing his sentimental fedora (iconic and important to his identity), to the darkened close up of the hero himself – Spielberg and Lucus reconstructed Guido’s daydream in dynamic and captivating fashion.

8 1/2 is a superb film that, although brilliantly artistic, can be tiresome for modern audiences.  An intellectual and mind-bending piece, I suggest that the viewer sit down and view this when he or she is best receptive to thinking.  Being slightly intelligent yourself is also a requisite.  If you’re a dum-dum, and need to start a bit lower on the totem pole, might I suggest Total Recall (a science fiction, dream/reality shifter) for the less cerebral.

Don’t feel that we are being judging…

The Joyce Review loves you… “Just as you are!”

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 :: ACTION :: 015

Tony Scott had me at hello.  But here we are, halfway in our conversation and I want to say [as I look down at my watchless wrist], “Jeepers! Would you look at the time.  I’m late for a thing.”  Top Gun was the first R-rated movie that my parents let me see.  I got to see fighter jets and I was introduced to the french kiss.  Four years later, he even momentarily smoothed over my distain for Nascar racing when he made Days of Thunder.  At the age of 65, he’s still at the top of his game when it comes to blowing back our hair with sheer, unadulterated speed.  I always knew that I could turn to Tony Scott when I felt, “The need for speed”… and apparently he can even do it with trains.

The Taking of Pelham 123, is a remake of the 1974 film of the same name (alternate spelling; One Two Three) and features two of Hollywood’s premier actors, John Travolta and Denzel Washington.  Denzel plays Walter Garber, a MTA dispatcher assigned to Railway Control when train Pelham 123 is hijacked by a man calling himself Ryder (Travolta).  Ryder demands $10 million (in 100 dollar bills) within an hour, and tells Garber that he’ll kill a passanger each minute that they are late.

This film shows clearly that the making a movie is a team effort and can’t rest on the abilities of one Mr. Tony Scott.  He was, however, a very naughty boy in allowing such unneeded and unrealistic crash scenes.  You’d think that the NYPD would be much more careful in its transportation of $10 million greenbacks.  And I thought the streets were closed down?  New York’s “finest” still managed to crash 3 times, with the final wreck coming from an ambulance no doubt… that t-bones the speeding prowler and knocks it so hard that it can no longer conform to the rules of physics and gravity… they tumble, log-roll-fashion through the intersection, off a bridge, landing on an underpass to be met by on-coming traffic.  Ouch.

As much as I like Travolta and Washington, they weren’t right for this movie (at least this script).  Denzel can be a tremendous force if given the right role (ex. Glory), but here we get apple sauce when we asked for curly fries.  Travolta spends most of the movie acting tyrannical and forcefully authoritative.  But I don’t know if it’s just me, but I can sometimes tell (without even listening to them) if they are a true-blooded bad ass.   Travolta is Danny Zuko, Tony Manero, and Vincent Vega.  Now Harvey Keitel, or Samuel L. Jackson; either one of these would have made a much better Ryder.

Oh yeah, and when an Army Ranger has the guts to step in front of a madman with a gun, just to get shot, he should have the guts to try and take the gun from the lunatic’s hand, methinks.  All in all, good action and soundtrack… no depth or real substance.  Strongly mediocre.  Your thoughts?

DRAG ME TO HELL :: HORROR :: 014

If the child in me was a director, it would be Sam Raimi.  And if it were possible to give birth so that the world would have another Sam Raimi, I would.  What a gift that would be? But alas, no uterus. Besides I like Sam in me.  Wait… that sounded wrong.

After the cult success of the Evil Dead trilogy, and what I’d consider a shining moment on top (A Simple Plan, 1989), then the hugely successful Spiderman trilogy, I was wondering when Sammy was going to ditch the bitch of Hollywood and indulge in his hobby.  With Drag Me To Hell, the child in me can be proud of his father.  [jeez, there I go again!]

Drag Me To Hell, is the story of Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) whose career is on the rise as a loan officer, until she is cursed by  an old gypsy, Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver).  Christine and her boyfriend (Justin Long) seek the help of psychic Rham Jas (Deleep Rao) who feels he may be able to save her soul.  But it comes with a price, and there are no guarantees.

One of my favorite things to do when I watch a Sam Raimi film is to find the signature moves, and the references to other works that he’s done.  The second thing I like is to sit back and just let that inner child play in the giant, fun, mud-pie (or “harvest cake” if you will) that Sam creates.  Yes there is a bit of campiness, and yes, things sometimes seem outrageously odd… but when you know that “seriousness” and “realism” in a Sam Raimi horror film is something that he intends not to accomplish… you take it as something different, something uniquely his.

I have a weak stomach.  Sometimes I gag when I brush my back molars.  When I first watched The Exorcist, I was in my early teens, and even at that advanced age my body wilted at the scene when the priest “ate the pea soup.”  On four separate occasions I got the same nauseous, gut-busting sensations while watching Drag Me To Hell.

I love the duel that Sam and Ivan Raimi plays between the physical world and the paranormal/spiritual world.  For example, the old gypsy’s handkerchief flies along the wind, possessed with evil and spreads itself across Christine’s car windshield.  She screams, and quickly flips on the windshield wipers that momentarily, although successfully, thwarts the evil menace.  Like Army of Darkness’s “Klatu Varata Ni…[clears his throat],” we challenge the spiritual world with all that is humanly possible… and at times, even with our stupidity.

There were several downers in this film.  Bruce Campbell, not even having a cameo appearance was befuddling and left me stomping my foot in childish protest.  The other was the sometimes poor CGI, of which you will see for yourself.  And lastly, to be honest, I didn’t care one iota for the ending.  If only the movie would have stopped 2 minutes earlier, I would have been happier.  Judge for yourself and let us know what you thought of the film.

WHITE/BIALY/BLANC :: FOREIGN :: 013

Polish films have a special place in my heart. This one in particular.

My best friend since kindergarten was Polish, and therefore, I spent a lot of time within their household, eating golabki and pierogi, and learning how to speak the “dirty words.”  I grew up loving Poland soo much that I made two trips!  During the second trip, I was enrolled at the Catholic University in Lublin.  It was there, after watching A Short Film About Love (Krotki Film O Milosci) that I fell in love with the style of Kieslowski.  White (Bialy) I viewed when I returned to the States and it blew my mind.

White is the story of Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) and his wife Dominique (Julie Delphy).  Shortly after they are married in Paris, Dominque files for divorce based on Karol’s inability to consummate the marriage.  Karol is left homeless and broke on the streets of Paris when he meets Mikolaj (Janusz Gojos), a fellow Pole, who helps him return to Poland.  Once in Poland, Karol uses all opportunities to become wealthy and sets forth on a masterful plan.  [no spoiler] Watch the film.

One of the many geniuses of this film is its use of symbolism.  The trilogy, of which White is the middle, is called Three Colors (Trzy Kolory) and represents both the colors of the French flag (Blue, White, and Red) and the what each color stands for; liberty, equality and fraternity.  The color white is artistically placed in nearly every scene, from Karol’s white-washed wedding recollection to the doves Karol pleasantly admires on the courtroom steps to the dove’s poop that lands on his shoulder only seconds later.

Karol (his full name is Karol Karol) is both a comical figure and a heroic one.  He’s kind-hearted and romantic, but in life, he has gotten “the short end of the stick.”  Even his name conjures a giggle as it would be the same as someone named Charlie Charlie.  Not the sort of name expected for a story’s protagonist.  Karol is a foreigner and has difficulty communicating in France.  However, in Poland, Karol is a king (not literally – but is a well-known, award-winning hairdresser), loved and respected.  The color of white is associated more with Karol because he is “innocent” and (after he returns to Poland) is on the verge of a “rebirth.”  This change that Karol undergoes will be the master stroke to “level the playing field” between himself and Dominique.  Thus, bringing “equality” to the relationship.

Dominique is symbolized by the color red (which is often a dark red/maroon).  Dominique is superficial, passion-driven and, at times, heartless.  Red is the symbol for sex, the heart/passion, and of solidarity (and obviously of “Satan”).  We see in White, that Karol cannot escape the passion for Dominique and finds ways to connect, for example; his suitcase is a dark red (symbolic of Dominique/France), the car that he buys when he becomes wealthy is red, he practices his french pronunciations at night, and delicately stares at a porcelain bust that he stole in France (that undoubtedly reminds him of her).

White, the first of the Joyce Reviews to earn a 10 bear claw rating, does so through sheer force of character.  This, Kieslowski’s second-to-last film (he died two years later at the age of 56), has a depth and vulnerability that is seldom achieved in films of today.  Annette Insdorf, admirer of Kieslowski and author of Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski said this of him:

Kieslowski truly loved his characters and invites us into a poignant awareness of both our limitations and our capacity for transcendence… and you can feel that in the tenderness of every frame.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY :: COMEDY :: 012

I’ve never given up on a movie, so I didn’t start here.  But I wanted, very badly, to be somewhere else… that is, except for the scenes with Eddie (played by the always brilliant Eddie Marsan).  The critical acclaim for this film is astounding and begs the question of, “Who’s paying these people off?”  The protagonist, Poppy (Sally Hawkins) isn’t in my opinion what the director implies through the title of his picture, as “Happy-Go-Lucky.”  She’s actually more of a… oh darn. I can’t sugar-coat this… – A dump trunk of giggly, jabbering, retardation that leaves you begging that she’d answer at least one question straight.  But no, she answers in non sequiturs and flops about the entire movie with no real aim but to stop a child from bullying another (which seemed like only an excuse to bring in hunky, romantic interest social worker, Tim [Samuel Roukin]) and to learn how to drive.

I discovered this film after watching Gangster No. 1 and it’s stunning interrogation scene with Eddie Marsan.  I was so impressed with his ability to play the fear oozing “snail” of a man in that film that I immediately looked up some of his other roles.  In Happy-Go-Lucky, he plays not-so happy-go-lucky driving instructor, Scott.  His character has a temper a mile long and is the polar opposite of Poppy, as he constantly reminds her to wear proper footwear and to watch her mirrors.  Of course, each and every demand is returned with giddy chuckles and sassy remarks that only aids in the audiences compulsion to strangle her.

There doesn’t seem to be any real plot and the dialogue is simply trite and hard to chew.  But I have to “give it up” to Sally Hawkins for playing, for nearly every scene in the movie, a character that exudes imbecilic happiness.  That’d be one monumental task for any good actor and she does it quite naturally.  I can’t help but to think of the Friends character of Janice when I look at her garb, and just praise Mike Leigh that he didn’t give her character an obnoxious laugh to-boot.

Another aspect that is hard to place is the precise setting.  The girls make mention of “texting,” which is clearly something from this decade… however, there is an awful lot of denim-wearing, colorful leggings, and loopy jewelry that seems to suggest the 1980’s.

There are two scenes that stand out, but only like an irritating herpes sore on the face of this review.  What Roger Ebert called a “profoundly effective scene” in which Poppy encounters a nonsense-jabbering homeless man came across to me as a moronic and dangerous attempt to connect with yet another character – but this time to show her empathetic side.  What Mike Leigh was trying to create comes up short and only makes me doubt the intelligence of Poppy further.  The second scene that I have a problem with is when she takes a flamingo dancing class.  She creates a wonderful first impression by not only coming in late (not her fault however) but then by disrupting class the moment the teacher is ready to get started.  She half-asses her lesson by making mocking faces and by barely participating in the classes opening stretches.  ”Happy-Go-Lucky” in this case, just appears to the viewer as an appalling lack of maturity.

Not completely dreadful.  Worth seeing the clips with Eddie Marsan in it.  The rest… ( shrugs ).  Your views?

FOOD, INC. :: DOC :: 011

Sometimes, I can be not-so-intelligent. Such is the time that I sit down to watch this documentary on the Food Industry whilst eating Sloppy Joes.  I can honestly say that the sandwich had never tasted so bad in all my life.

Most of this could be in my head, but I figure it has much to-do with the images of cows, pigs, and chickens trodding knee deep in their own excrement.  Or maybe it was the mechanized churning of hundreds of cows into a (previously delectable) meaty paste.  Fact of the matter, I need to eat better.  We all need to eat better.  And this is one all-too-important documentary films that each and every one of us should take it upon ourselves to see.

Food, Inc., is a documentary film by Robert Kenner and based on An Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  It’s a glimpse into lives of the modern day farmer and the big businesses that own them and of everyday consumers, some financially strained enough to be forced to eat “fast-food”-style and another that lost her young son to E. Coli poisoning.  For once we have a movie, to-the-point and with a showing time of only 93 minutes!  Education for the whole family.  Watch this movie!

We need to (forgive my tactlessness) get our head out of our arses! The good-looking cowboy looking over his cattle isn’t carving up your beef and the sweet old geezers with the pitchfork and a smile aren’t churning your butter.  You’ve been had.  Our best hope for discovering real food grown by real farmers is to go to your local farmer’s market.  Or for convenience sake, do your shopping at Whole Foods.  But remember, it’s not necessarily about shopping “organic” or not (although it is best), it’s also about food grown within your area and not those shipped from far away lands (oozing chemicals that keep them “fresh”).

We as a “fast food society” have a backwards way at looking at health.  We look at a carton of organic, free-range eggs and scoff at the price… $3…$4, whatever.  Meanwhile, we’re filling our belly with a 75 cent soda or munching from a $3 bag of chips.  Our stomachs should not become the repository of salts, fats, and sugars but a furnace that we feed real foods, real energy.  Years of this thinking, and more importantly, ACTION, will produce less digestive complications, less illness and better overall wellness.  Compare the cost of eating right and exercising to a hospital bill sometime.  I triple dog dare ya.

Just remember that we as consumers hold the cards.  We supply these businesses with money.  Each item you run through the register is a vote.  Organic… not organic.  Imported… locally grown.  I, for one, am going to be more conscious of my food choices and if that means spending a little more… so be it.  Power to us [raises fist to the sky]!